The horror of big business

Cultural heritage is too often seen as an impediment to raking in profits.

I’ve never much cared for conspiracy theories. The reason is simple: people only ever give credence to the theories that are detrimental to their side of politics. Rupert Murdoch is controlling the media to implement his right-wing agenda. Climate scientists are all in the pocket of the Big Green gravy train. These sort of blanket statements fail to understand that conglomerates are made up of individuals and that getting all those ‘parts’ to move in unison towards a unified goal is next to impossible. The media helps to perpetuate belief in conspiracy theories, because ‘us and them’ scenarios sell more newspapers and generate more discussion, but ultimately it paints an inaccurate picture of the world.

I don’t often discuss politics on this blog, because as an old mentor of mine once noted, “politics are boring, man”, but something caught my interest the other day that seemed to sum up one of my political beliefs: I’m pro-capitalist but anti-corporate. You might ask how the two things can co-exist, and as an example I give you the Dawn of the Dead Bridge.

For those not familiar with George Romero’s seminal horror film, Dawn of the Dead was shot primarily in a real-world shopping centre in Pittsburgh. The Monroeville Mall has become something of a cultural icon for horror and zombie fanatics, particularly its indoor creek and bridge. When the present owners wanted to renovate, they decided the bridge had to go.

This sparked an enormous outcry from Dawn of the Dead fans and one of the stars of the movie, Ken Foree, was among the loudest voices. “Don't they get it?” he wrote on the ‘Save the Dawn of the Dead Bridge' Facebook page. “It's an national and international landmark. Who the hell is in charge here!”

That’s the thing: big business doesn’t get it. Cultural heritage is too often seen as an impediment to raking in profits. This doesn’t seem to afflict smaller companies quite so much, perhaps because those making the decisions aren’t so far removed from day-to-day operations.

Following the protests, the Monroeville Mall issued this paint-by-numbers corporate reply:

In other words, we couldn’t give a damn about preserving the mall’s history and we are trying to wash our hands of this unpleasant business while minimising the public relations damage.

More often than not, when someone or something (i.e. a corporation) makes a thoughtless decision, it’s due to an ignorance of history. Big business seems incapable of understanding that humanity cherishes its heritage, even if the emotion is subconscious rather than conscious. Progress, profits and heritage can co-exist – but too often, the decision makers can’t be bothered making the relationship work.

Anyway, it looks like the Dawn of the Dead Bridge has found a new home at the Living Dead Museum in Evans City, Pennsylvania – so at least it didn’t end up on the scrap heap. But I do have to wonder how many people will no longer bother making the pilgrimage to the Monroeville Mall and, ironically, what that drop in foot traffic will do to the mall’s bottom line.

#DawnoftheDeadBridge #DawnoftheDead #GeorgeRomero #Zombie #MonroevilleMall